Among WP2 consortium partners, LEITAT has taken on the responsibility of functionalizing the mycelium material with bio-based products, in alignment with the sustainable objectives of the MY-FI project. While various functionalities were considered, the primary focus within the project has been on fire retardancy, with exploration into phosphorous-based compounds as bio-based alternatives.

LEITAT conducts plasma pre-treatment on the samples for enhanced wettability and treatment uptake, considering both plasma and non-plasma-treated samples. An optimization study was carried out to determine the pH and concentrations used in this treatment.

The functionalization was not only studied for raw mycelium but also for industrially dyed mycelium at FRANCE CROCO (Figure 1). The treated samples underwent flame testing (ISO 15025:2016, Met A), yielding positive results for both raw and dyed mycelium (Figure 2).

Regarding the impact of plasma in this functionalization, it exhibited better treatment absorption for raw mycelium but not for dyed samples. This better uptake was also seen in the performance of the flame test, where plasma-treated samples obtained a smaller burned area. Nevertheless, both plasma and non-plasma-treated raw mycelium samples demonstrated favorable results.